The World News Archive
by laZardo
Summary: A side archive of news for Memoirs, featuring newly-written insights into the Ace Combat/Strangereal canon universe between the different games.
1. GAZE, 2008

_Original content based on characters and other material developed by Project ACES. The author does not claim any for-profit ownership over them._

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**GAZE  
****January 2008 Issue**

**Atlas Shrugging**  
_Gründer's CEO on war, peace, and the weight of the world on his business._

Johann Seiler has lived as colorful a life as the company he runs. The CEO of Gründer Industries has restored his company from the brink of the post-fascist collapse to its former place among the titans of the global arms industry. Yet the trend of global disarmanent hasn't dampened Seiler's optimism, nor his company's growth. The company is expected to post record profits heading into 2009, buoyed by contracts from both Osea and Yuktobania as well as several recovering Usean nations.

GAZE met Seiler during the Expo City Airshow (X-Air) earlier this month. East Usea correspondent Kirk Baxter (KB) sat down with him (JS) and got a look into the CEO's mindset.

KB: Let's begin with a little history. You were fairly high up in the company hierarchy when the National Worker's Party was elected in 1991.

JS: I was actually in charge of one of the main aircraft component assembly lines. It wasn't that high up. We license-built parts for many of the big names in aviation then, including Yuktobania's, and those were also integrated into our air force.

KB: But did you ever make aircraft yourselves?

JS: Not necessarily. We did create a forward swept-wing model with Sukhoi but as you know, we only completed a few before the anarchists and North Point military hardliners stole our prototypes.

KB: Of course, you were actually a member of the National Worker's Party?

JS: It's not something that I'm proud of, but yes. We were all required to be members in order to keep our jobs at the Munitionsfabrik _[South Belkan Munitions Factory]_. I was not exempted from that rule. Some were enthusiastic about it, others simply found it a necessity.

KB: Others like yourself.

JS: Certainly. Gründer is to Sudentor what Neucom is to Farbanti, Boeing to Jefferson City, and so on. The great industrial cities have always been proud of their home companies like they are proud of their football team. It is their heart, their lifeblood. It is what keeps their cities alive.

KB: One of the Seven Pillars nuclear devices went off right behind your facilities though.

JS: A tragedy, no doubt, but I am proud to say that we have gotten up from that day. It was a long struggle but we have gotten back on our feet.

KB: Speaking of that day, of course, the question we all asked ourselves is where were we when it happened?

JS: I was at home with my family in the suburbs, hunkering down for the imminent allied assault. The military evacuated everyone ahead of time so they could use weapons that were literally fresh off the assembly line. But we never expected that the leadership would actually do something like that.

KB: And how did it make you feel?

JS: I guess I felt the same way everyone else in the world did. We were stunned, afraid...frightened. And ironically, we were united in that fear. A lot of us hoped that this was really the fascists' last gasp for breath, and that their downfall would bring a new, more optimistic era for our country.

KB: History turned out otherwise, of course. South Belka became North Osea, and North Belka fell under Yuktobanian control for several years.

JS: I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. And I understand why many of us from South Belka would feel betrayed. But reverting to domestic terrorism caused more problems than it solved. After more than a decade of hardship, I have come to believe living well is the best revenge.

KB: And you don't think you're betraying your heritage by attaining Osean citizenship?

JS: I was able to maintain dual Osean-Belkan citizenship. It certainly helps me get through both countries' immigration easier. [laughs] But I believe that our work in restoring Sudentor has helped the company regain the trust of our people, not just our workers.

KB: Not long after you took control of the company you decided to establish ties with Yuktobania. And this was already when the AN had Yuke troops in North Belka.

JS: Well, the old saying is good business is where you find it. Our company had a history of cooperation with Yuktobania prior to the nationalization, and with Yuke military leaders looking to tap into our industry, you could say we already found it.

KB: So it was all just a matter of calling them up again.

JS: I would think so. I would have wanted matching red and blue phones on my desk for the two leaders like Bright Hill. [laughs] But really, the improving relations between the rivals meant twice as much business for us. Why should we turn down such an opportunity?

KB: Because their disarmament policies would mean less business for you as a weapons company.

JS: Well, some would say it's an obstacle but as a businessman I see it as a challenge. The governments want fewer troops, but at the same time both of them want to show they are still capable of defending themselves into the new century. So modernization is key.

KB: And you don't see any potential conflict of interest with it? Helping two rival superpowers that is.

JS: On the contrary, it's given us a prime opportunity to hand out an olive branch. We've already helped supply much of the information technology to the joint Space Bridge project. That trickles down into civilian projects, and that ends up paying dividends on our initial investment.

KB: Plans for the future?

JS: I can assume people have already noticed that we've been building into the mountains, and all I can say is because the city's grown so quickly since the end of the war that it's the only place we can test our newest technologies away from the usual prying eyes.

KB: Technology such as...

JS: I'd tell you, but you know how that _other_ old saying goes. But apart from what we're already showing off at ExAir, we are looking into the next generation of flight technology, allowing the pilot to become more aware of their surroundings with as little visual blockage as possible from the control panels. It's a tough balance to achieve with these increasingly sophisticated machines.

KB: So, who would you believe are your competitors in this field? Or rather, who do you think these prying eyes would be?

JS: Apart from rival spy agencies? I should say Neucom, of course. They may raise eyebrows with their radical technology ideas but they have the backing of the Erusean industrial complex and the know-how that nearly conquered the continent. Fortunately in this new age I hope that we should see the competition of the free market prove more constructive than before when it comes to technology.

KB: And on the contrary, anybody you admire in particular?

JS: I do like what that man _[Newfield Cartel* CEO Francis]_ Mondeci is doing in growing small businesses and education in Usea, though I wish he could be more willing to accommodate larger players into his fold. Nevertheless, he did a marvelous job at filling the crater on Shinda Island** and perhaps it would be nice if he could try the same with one of our own.

KB: Finally, returning to Belka. Do you ever see yourself returning to your homeland, perhaps in a reunified state?

JS: Who doesn't? For all our differences, one Belka cannot survive without the other. What the old fascists did years ago left scars on this very planet that may never heal, just like the asteroids. But we can stitch the wound with bridges to heal rifts. Mondeci proves we can even bring new life out of craters. Perhaps...reunification really isn't that difficult to achieve if we put our minds to it.

KB: Thank you for sitting down with us, Mr. Seiler.

JS: Call me Johann. And it was a pleasure talking with you.

* * *

_*The Newfield Cartel was the informal name given to a group of investors that appeared after the Usean Continental War and invested heavily in rebuilding the devastated ISAF countries. The network of businesses they raised would go on to form the General Resource group, which would serve as an umbrella association for the companies until their total integration in the 2020s._

_**Shinda translates to Newfield in the North Point language. It was referred to as Newfield by most Usean countries following North Point's defeat during the Second World War, but was officially referred to as Shinda again following the end of the Usean Continental War and North Point's contributions to ISAF.  
_


	2. Newsday International, 2005

_Original content based on characters and other material developed by Project ACES. The author does not claim any for-profit ownership over them._

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**Newsday Magazine  
23 November 2005 issue**

**"Remember Barchester"**  
_The Erusean junta spread war to the Osean continent in its last fatal breath. Now Nordland and Usea must decide how much must be paid for blood._

The sun is setting over Le Chevalin, one of Erusea's most famous port cities. It is a storied sunset that has graced countless postcards and movie scenes.

But the beaches are empty, the seaside cafes and hotels deserted or shuttered altogether. The port, which once serviced the Erusean Navy's most powerful warships, is all but abandoned.

A street-cleaner or two roams the sidewalks on a duty they have not ceased since the meteors fell, hoping something will liven up their nearly-empty routine. But the new additions to the coastal view means that business - which dried up due to the war effort - is not likely to come back in the foreseeable future.

Off the coast, an eagle-eyed spotter can make out the _HMS Norrington_ keeping watch for any traffic coming in or out; traffic they hope has the proper clearance.

On 4 October, Prime Minister Brian Yates authorized the first military action between the two continents in more than 60 years in retaliation for a tragedy inflicted by a desperate junta.

Two months earlier, ISAF forces were bearing down on Megalith, the former counter-Ulysses facility and the Eruseans' fortress of last resort. The few radical officers that held control of the facility fired off their last message to the world - several ballistic missiles aimed to dislodge fragments of the Ulysses meteor still orbiting the planet.

In Usea, one fragment obliterated the nuclear fission facility in Saint Ark.

But another fragment shot down missed the Usean continent altogether and impacted the city of Barchester in Nordland with a combined explosive force larger than one of the nuclear detonations that now mar Belka's western border.

The rage it invoked among the people of Nordland, who had gladly taken in Erusean and other Usean refugees after Ulysses, flared to such heights that police presence had to be raised in response to anti-Erusean and anti-ISAF protests and riots in several cities.

The closed Erusean consulate in Caerdon took damage from hooligans armed with molotovs, while the Nordland Army stepped up its security surrounding refugee camps. A manhunt is currently on for the key members of a lynch mob that brutally beat an Erusean mother and her 5-year-old son to death on the streets of Marbury.

The ISAF nations do not escape blame from the protesters either. A demonstration held by members of the anti-immigration Nordfire party in front of the Halford refugee camp blame the government for allowing in refugees and "invoking God's wrath" in the form of the Ulysses fragment.

An emergency session of Parliament could only agree that retaliation needed to be taken against Erusea, even as the junta had already fallen and its leader Anton Bravard had committed suicide in his getaway aircraft. An ambitious Tory MP even declared that "if Erusea wants to take the world down with them, we will gladly conduct its funeral."

The government raised its BIKINI alert state level to Red, a measure originally created in response to imminent nuclear conflict. The Nordland armed forces were made ready to deploy across the sea to the same nation that took in Nordlish refugees when Belka invaded and nearly occupied Caerdon in the 1940s.

Yet an exhausted ISAF could not afford an escalation that would draw in forces from another continent. And it quickly dawned on Parliament and 20 Yeardley Street that unilateral action would not bode well with their foreign relations elsewhere on the continent, with Osea's President Harling offering to host further negotiations between ISAF and the provisional Erusean government.

But an emergency meeting of the AN Security Council could make little more than written condemnation. Despite Erusea's absence and pressure from Osea and Yuktobania, Nordland still wields veto power. Any further developments, however minor, will most likely happen at the G8 conference - in February.

After several cabinet meetings and emergency calls to ISAF representatives, PM Yates announced that the Royal Navy would blockade Erusean ports to all ships save for aid vessels from the International Red Diamond and other humanitarian organizations. Even then, operatives of the Special Air Service would be ready to board and inspect any suspect vessel at its own discretion, and the Royal Air Force stands ready to deploy across the ocean in case of any direct assaults on the ships.

There was only condition for the removal of the blockade: reparations owed to Nordland, for the "pain and suffering" of Barchester.

Even after a brief series of armed operations quickly seized the Spring Sea islands between the two countries as a "downpayment," the cost of removing the Royal Navy blockade still matches the amount owed to ISAF, which already has to deal with the cost of clearing Saint Ark.

Prevailing winds - and literally radioactive rain - forced the evacuation of the entire city. The FCU's geological service also believes that the impact also destabilized Saint Ark's foundations, meaning that destructive aftershocks are sure to wreak more havoc in the near future.

But the nuclear plant was located outside the city, giving most of its citizens time to evacuate. Even now, the death toll continues to climb in Barchester, surpassing 25,000 as of this article's writing. It is likely that few bodies will ever be found from what little remains of the northern half of the city.

Ironically, the Eruseans also know that feeling of loss, their capital's crater a reminder of the pain they suffered. And it almost will not relieve them to know that their efforts to recover and reconcile with their neighbors will become more difficult with the Queen's ransom to pay.

The recent attempt by Erusean officers to restart their war with a hidden stash of unmanned fighter prototypes is a testament to their discontent, and in Nordland's view, further justification for the blockade. There are rumblings among the intelligence community that the DGSE remain a force to be reckoned with in local politics. And as much of their commercial infrastructure remains intact, the Global Bank predicts the burden of doubled reparations could not only nullify any economic growth but also trigger a continental recession that could easily spread to Eastern Osea.

This extra burden has forced other prominent Eruseans to think more ambitiously, if not take more risk, when it comes to bringing their country back from the brink of failed-state status.

Elsewhere in the port city, armored convoys carrying VIPs from the provisional government and Erusean industry can be seen shuttling back and forth from Le Chevalin's main airport and the city's luxurious accommodations. Among those seen entering the convoys are Cyril Goussard, the CEO of pharmaceutical titan Arcanis, and Arnaud Corbeil, the director of the AASE* as well as representatives of the ELE oil company and the Dassault aircraft manufacturers.

Rumors are abounding that the interim government and private industry have been formulating an ambitious plan to pay off the reparations quickly. The fact that the largest bidder for the assets of the recently-privatized AASE is actually a conglomeration of the aforementioned industrial interests is a telling first step.

Although paying off these reparations in anything other than the long term seems like a momentous feat given the country's apparently shambling state, it is not entirely without precedent.

The former South Belka, itself taken as reparations for the fascists' nuclear conspiracy, has thrived under Osean governance thanks to the government's generous cooperation with the Belkan industrial complex. Profits from North Osean companies have trickled back into Belka itself, reviving its _Mittelstand_ small-and-medium industry base and filling the economic vacuum left when Yuktobania confiscated most of Nord Belka's surviving industry as its own 'reparations.'

More telling is the fact that this cooperation has helped mend the divide between the two superpowers, as these companies have worked with Yuktobanian state agencies to build the Space Center in Pacifica.

Today, Erusea's land routes are still open for trade, and Erusean consumer products will most certainly be in high demand at least among its closer neighbors. Should this plan succeed, it may as well prove doubly useful both in paying off the reparations and mending their relations with the rest of the continent.

But for now, the _HMS Norrington_ and its sister ships will continue its patrols off the coast of Le Chevalin and the rest of Erusea. The beaches, shops and hotels will remain deserted, and the ports virtually abandoned.

A closer inspection of the _Norrington_ through binoculars reveals a gigantic banner with the colors of FC Barchester City draped over the starboard bow.

The "Bar City" are a Conference team catapulted to Premier League prominence by the impact. Miraculously, their players and coaches were on an away game that evening, but many of them came back to find nothing left of their homes - or their families.

The Barchester City banner is clearly meant to remind Erusea of their sins. But it is, unintentionally, a symbol of hope.

Their stadium, located on the opposite side of the city, emerged unscathed if not buried in a cloud of debris. After a brief cleanup, it now hosts the city's survivors. A gigantic memorial adorned with pictures and flowers for the lost has taken over most of the perimeter fence.

Bar City's star striker Daniel Sheer lost his family in the explosion, but he bears no ill will toward any of the nations responsible even as he spends most of his waking hours there, helping the survivors cope.

"It won't bring back the dead if more people starve," he explained simply. They are profound words for a continent exhausted from war and natural disaster.

Words, of course, have never spoken louder than actions. Or the _Norrington's_ guns, for that matter.

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_*AASE = Agence Aerospatiale Erusaise. Popularly translated to EASA, Erusean Aerospace Agency, although Erusea has historically only used that arrangement in iconography._

_A/N: Coming up with an origin story for Neucom. Wanted to have some kind of impetus for massive corporate mergers across different industries in such a short span of time._


	3. Defense Global, 2017

_New content is adapted from material by Project ACES and the Naval Graduate School. The author does **not** claim any for-profit ownership over them._

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**Defense Global  
February 2017 issue**

**"Necessary Demons"**  
_The new Independent Peacekeeping Force of PMCs are simply supplying a twenty-year-old demand._

In 1995, the government of occupied Ustio contracted a then-little-known private military startup called Triple Spectrum Risk Management to replenish the manpower of the Ustian Air Force due to the extremely high attrition rate among its pilots during the Belkan War. Comprised primarily of South Sotoan pilots but also including a number of young mercenary pilots from other countries, the pilots were given immediate access to high-grade defense articles granted to Ustio by the Osean military.

The members of the "Demon Lord's" 66th Air Force Unit distinguished themselves in their merciless combat against Belkan and other insurgent forces during the conflicts, their feats becoming as legendary as the rumors surrounding the identity of the Demon Lord himself. Triple Spectrum would continue on to help suppress the rebellion led by North Point ultranationalist officers in 1997, before regulatory measures enacted by the FCU would lead to its dissolution.

Twenty years on, and despite various scandals, it appears there is no stopping the rise of private military companies. The Security Enterprise division of General Resource will comprise the largest contingent of the first private security force endorsed by the Assembly of Nations, over the objection of GR's CEO Francis Mondeci and much of the popular media.

Yet as controversial as popular media suggests, as much as Mondeci had to be overridden to get the Security Enterprise founded in the first place, it is important to look at the rise of the private military firm (PMF) in the broader context of the global security situation of the last 20 years.

Mercenaries are as old as warfare itself, hired by fledgling city-states and nations to protect their own interests prior to the development of standing professional armies.

But more recent years have seen a significant weakening of that state entity, ironically as an outgrowth of the environment of "peace."

In Usea, Sotoa and the former Estovakia, the combined effects of natural disaster and invasion have left many countries less willing and able to defend themselves against non-state threats. Those states that depended on Yuktobanian aid have seen this wellspring dry up significantly during the recent reforms.

The widespread demobilization of the major industrial powers' militaries after the_ hyper_mobilization of the Cold War also resulted in an enormous inventory for the resources and tools of large-scale violence. Private forces now have access to weapons systems on par and even surpassing many national militaries. Millions of light arms have also been dumped on the world market, adding onto those stocks left by the former colonial powers after the independence of their colonies.

Most of these stocks have ended up in the hands of the so-called "lords of war" and other independent gun runners, decreasing governmental control over the means of conflict. The greatly expanded arms market has given even more power to private conflict groups as well as the firms organized to counter them.

These factors have led to an upswing in the number of conflict zones over the last two decades. This was further compounded by the declining willingness by the major industrial powers to intervene in these conflict zones for a variety of reasons including a reduced tolerance for casualties as well as evaluations on how those conflicts directly affect domestic security.

It was believed during optimistic environment that pervaded after the end of the Usean and Ceres conflicts that the Assembly of Nations would take over these roles. However, it is an organization diametrically opposed to the fighting of wars, and still subject to the ideological divide between existing superpowers. This, along with its failure to prevent the Usean and Anean wars means that it has otherwise proved ineffective in its peacekeeping role.

Nevertheless, the superpowers are effectively left with little choice but to delegate such responsibilities to PMFs. That they choose to place for-profit military enterprises under the guidance of the more ideological AN seems contradictory, but it now gives them a peacekeeping force which is not only well-armed, but brimming with skilled military labor.

The Belkan "mercenary effect" following its military's dismantlement in 1996 well-known and well-documented. The military, industrial and scientific talent that bled from the country following the end of the Belkan War would be utilized to bolster militaries all across the globe. This talent would also serve as the brains behind several private military enterprises, such as Zenith Operation Enterprise and Kronus International.

But the downsizing of the superpowers' militaries in Osea and Yuktobania following the end of the Belkan War as well as in Usea after the Continental War in 2005 produced an oversupply that would form the backbone of these PMFs. This included both conscripts and professional soldiers, enlisted men and officers alike.

Reductions were also taken in back-end areas such as logistics. In Osea's case, the increasing number of interventions it deployed its military to since 1995 revealed a large support gap that would be filled by outsourcing these duties to private military firms such as Kronus.

Thus the environment of disarmament by the major powers has not only bred a sharp increase in the number of global conflicts, but has also created a vacuum that the PMFs are ideally positioned to fill.

Developing nations trying to build military power - as well as the non-state actors threatening their sovereignty - have found it easier to simply contract a PMF to bolster that power at the cost of a small concession. Professional training and weapons systems can be made available at the price of a copper mine or oil reserve for another buyer. This has been the case for much of the post-Cold War and post-Ulysses environment.

But in the case of the Security Enterprise and Neucom's planned Emergency Unit, their roles with the ANIPF can be considered such a concession.

Both corporations exemplify the opportunistic nature (to find a word) of the post-globalist society. Where Neucom has led by a sharp focus on innovation through their existing subsidiaries, General Resource has provided an environment to propagate the accomplishments of smaller companies on a much broader scale than allowed by their immediate environs. Both approaches have resulted in staggering economic growth where they wield significant influence.

That there is now a coalition of non-state actors rising against them in the form of the Valahia is an opportunity in itself for these companies to protect their gain as well as their customer base. Their ability to do so will secure their growth in the foreseeable future.

Having official backing from no less than the Assembly of Nations is more than just garnish.

It is in fact recognition of the rise of private industry's presence not just in supplying, but actively waging conflict. And as non-state entities themselves, it is also a testament to their influence not just in the global economy but also global politics as well.

In a sense, their presence should not be regarded as controversial but natural. The rise of these PMFs are merely the forces of conflict adapting to a constantly evolving global paradigm using the resources they have available.

The real question to ask is how Francis Mondeci will exercise his responsibility now that he holds the Demon Lord's leash.

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_A/N: Most of this material was inspired or otherwise adapted by this article I found while looking for a "history of the private military" and then adapted accordingly. Shockingly, that article made a lot of sense in the sense of the AC world transitioning from "peace" to "corporate." The article can be found at the Naval Graduate School website: [1].[usa].gov/Uk1K2J (remove the brackets)_


	4. Mayarin Daily Tribune, 2008

_New content is adapted from material by Project ACES and the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The author does not claim any for-profit ownership over them._

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**Mayarin Daily Tribune  
****19 July 2008 Issue**

**"We're Making This Happen"**  
_President Servillano's SONA highlights national sovereignty, outlines plans for future._

"The Islas Fuerte Grasya are achieving change, and we, the Grasyanos, are making this happen."

At his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) today, President Benjamin Servillano was quick to highlight the foreign and economic policies taken by his administration and Congress since his inauguration last August.

He began by recalling Congress' rejection of a proposal extending the ISAF presence.* This rejection effectively ordered the immediate return of all ISAF forces to their home countries by the end of this year. They also rejected a proposal extending the presence of the refugee camps, ordering all refugees repatriated to their home countries by the end of 2010.

"If someone enters your yard and camps on it, will you allow that?" he said. "It is wrong to leave them alone and simply expect them to behave. And so I ask for solidarity from our people regarding this issue. Let us speak with one voice."

Mr. Servillano cited the sharp increase in crime rates in cities where refugee camps were based, as well as the cities around Grasyano military installations opened up to ISAF transport during the war. He then cited statistics tracing the decline of that crime since ISAF troops began leaving earlier this year.

While he praised the bravery of the Grasyano troops involved in the campaign, he questioned whether the logistical support given to the amphibious landing operation in Nam-An as well as the overall campaign was worth the domestic suffering.

"These are also the ones who say, 'Let go of the past. Unite. Forgive and forget so we can move forward as a continent,'" Mr. Servillano said. "I find this unacceptable. Yes, we sheltered our allies so they could reclaim their lands. But does that also mean they were above the law?"

He then cited how the FGNP increased its focus on prosecuting soldiers that committed crimes during the ISAF presence, as well as their efforts to protect witnesses and prosecutors. He then went on to explain the administration's new national defense policy, which will nearly quadruple the current defense budget to more than P100 billion.

"We will conduct an extensive upgrade of our equipment across the FGNP, the AFFG and the Department of Justice," he said, "So that we may not entirely rely on other nations to defend us for them."

Nevertheless, he reiterated that the country does not want to appear hypocritical when it comes to the recently-ended conflict.

"We are consulting experts, every leader of our nation, our allies in the region, even those on the other side** to ensure stability in our region and the continent."

Mr. Servillano then went on to thank Congress for rejecting the Trade Amendment set forth by allies of former president Dominguez during the final months of her administration. The Trade Amendment, which was found to have been endorsed by the "Newfield Cartel" of Usean investors, would have amended the constitution to allow majority foreign ownership of business.

"We have seen the exploitation by military personnel, yet they are at least duty bound to represent their country. Should we expect the same from businesses that do not even have such restrictions?"

He pointed out that the country's annual GDP growth has surpassed every ISAF nation apart from Comona and North Point since the end of the war despite the rejection of the Trade Amendment, thanks to the efforts of domestic investors and foreign remittances. He has also cited the increase of tourism to the country thanks to its intact infrastructure.

Turning to domestic issues, Mr. Servillano said that there was a long road ahead for the country's development, not least because of the war.

He asked Congress to pass a series of legislation aimed at combating the corruption of the previous administration. This included amendments to anti-money laundering acts as well as providing for stricter enforcement of these laws.

Mr. Servillano also laid out a plan for further development of infrastructure and social services. These included:

- The complete restoration of the GraceRail network across Lusoa by the end of 2009, and the completion of a new planned line in Sambao by 2012.

- The completion by 2013 of five new airports.

- The universal enrollment of all Grasyanos in GraceHealth by 2011.

He also laid out a plan for educational reform, to narrow the student-teacher ratio. This included the construction of at least 500 new schools and the hiring of at least 12,000 new teachers by the end of his term.

He also added, "A reduction in the population growth rate will also help keep this ratio from rising. Perhaps the reproductive health bill can help address this."

The comments received the loudest and longest applause from the assembly, among the domestic issues discussed.

Mr. Servillano concluded his speech by saying, "I stand before you today and tell you: this is not my Sona. You made this happen. This is the Sona of the Grasyano nation, the nation of grace. Thank you."

The end of the SONA address was met not just with a standing ovation from Congress, but also from the crowd of activist groups gathered outside the Congressional Hall.

* * *

_*The government of President Maria Paz Dominguez allowed ISAF troops to transit and resupply through the IFG, bolstering the country's reputation among ISAF member states but creating severe domestic unrest. This led to her party's collapse in the 2007 election to Benjamin Servillano, the son of popular former president Luz Servillano, who died shortly before the campaign season._

_**A thinly-veiled reference to the country's diplomatic overtures to Erusea, the IFG's military modernization program would acquire a substantial number of excess defense articles from the dismantled Erusean military, including fighter, training and support aircraft as well as utility and SAR helicopters at reduced prices. The IFG would become a regional military power in its own right into the 2020s before falling under GR's sphere of influence._


	5. Commentator, 2026

_New content is adapted from material by Project ACES. The author does not claim any for-profit ownership over them._

* * *

**The Commentator Magazine**  
**18 August 2026 issue**

**How To Incorporate A Continent  
**_Can the corporations clean up the mess they made?_

Every now and then a particularly despised world leader makes his way into the halls of the New United Nations (formerly the Assembly of Nations) complex in New Lancaster, drawing a substantial crowd of protesters with them. But on 11 August the protesters gathered with as much force as an Osean civil rights march, to protest leaders that hold no formal political post.

The "corporate state" phrase that emblazoned most of their signs refers to a notion that had once been confined to gloomy dystopian literature and video games, and frequently used in metaphors by the more radical crowds to refer to various Western countries such as Osea and Erusea.

But the appearance of both Carlos Lazzaro and Cyril Goussard at an emergency meeting of the NUN Security Council as full-fledged delegates is a sobering realization that the corporate state is not only real but a force to be reckoned with.

The challenge of how to deal with the new corporate states is made especially daunting given Mr Lazzaro's and Mr Goussard's roles in causing the crisis that led to this massive governmental collapse.

Following [**REDACTED**], the company swiftly completed a strategic acquisition of the Ratio-based Societa Lazzaro conglomerate. The maverick industrial titan's deal had been repeatedly vetoed or otherwise blocked by CEO Francis Mondeci until [**REDACTED**]. Carlos Lazzaro was then elected CEO to the recently-vacated post.

Mr Lazzaro then followed up by bringing North Point pharmaceutical giant Kage Medical and São João shipping magnate Tership into GR's fold. Their respective CEOs Daimaru Matsumoto and Carlos Aldair Nascimento gained prominent positions on GR's board.

These acquisitions firmly reestablished GR's presence in global business after its humiliating retreat from Osean continental and Verusean markets.

With a market capitalization upwards of 30 trillion zollars and a wealth of subsidiaries at his disposal, GR initiated an unprecedented wave of mergers, hostile takeovers and buyouts all aimed to grow the various subsidiaries that had either of the three at the helm.

Not wanting to risk having the tables turned on them after their public ruminations of buying out GR in 2018, Neucom responded by consolidating their own influence. Enriched from filling in the Verusean markets GR left behind as well as sales of their vaunted experimental aircraft to other countries, they expanded their own marketing share through the aggressive purchase of former government facilities and research departments across Usea.

Unable to innovate or otherwise keep up, smaller competitors were either forced to fold or let themselves be assimilated into Neucom's fold.

Local courts that tried to intervene with anti-trust legislation found themselves blocked by lobbyists and politicians fearing a return to the economic doldrums and high unemployment that followed the end of the Continental War and Ceres Conflicts.

Ironically, the law of unintended consequences brought that prophecy to light. While the mergers brought a sharp increase in short-term profits it also led to a sharp spike in unemployment as hundreds of thousands of workers were laid off when their companies were either bought out or folded for being unable to compete.

Protests over unemployment turned to riots, riots turned to localized conflict, and soon they were joined by mutinous soldiers. They lashed out at governments that "sold out" to the twin titans of industry. Ethnic factions also took up arms against the armies and the corporations, and soon half the Usean continent was once again embroiled in civil war.

The only stability within these anarchic lands can now only be found at the national headquarters of GR and Neucom, both respectively fortified by their Defense Force and Emergency Unit personnel. These facilities have also become de facto refugee camps, not just for exiled government officials but for ordinary citizens that cannot flee across the border to a safer state.

This effectively makes an unlikely pair of CEOs based in Erusea and North Point the highest authority in power over sovereign states.

In New Lancaster, behind walls shielding them from the protesters outside, the two took their seats before the Big Five and braced themselves for the show trial.

But the look on their faces as they emerged from the Security Council hall was nothing less than sheer incredulity. They had expected a grilling, but after the Security Council briefed them on the situation as well as its causes, they instead received a challenge.

That challenge is less than grandest sales pitch of all time: could they run a country, let alone _four_, better than governments that were admittedly incompetent and corrupt in the years since Erusea's war? They would be given an unspecified time to think about this and decide whether to take on the challenge or defer it to a NUN task force.

The rewards for meeting this cruel challenge are just as damning as the consequences of failure. If the corporations can bring stability to these countries, they will fulfill the darkest fantasies of the protesters standing in the New Lancaster rain.

Failing to do so will jeopardize the global economy, not just the companies themselves.

It may thus come as a surprise to the reader that this newspaper would support the corporate effort.

The protesters would try to press the point that the best solution is such a NUN task force consisting of Osean, Yuktobanian and FCU troops similar to that used during the latter part of the Valahia crisis, and minimal if any support from the private security sector.

But as this newspaper has pointed out, there is still much resentment among these failed states' neighbors from Osea's aborted Spring Sea Treaty that led to the rebellion almost 20 years ago (among other unilateral military ventures.)

That rebellion, as many governments still believe, prevented Usea from standing a bigger chance against the meteors that landed two years later. Compounded with a flood of weapons from Yuktobania and Erusea in the wars that followed, they only welcomed the presence of the corporations simply because their primary investors' drew mostly local roots (Belkan involvement in the late 2010s was offset by that of Mr Matsumoto's group).

With that in mind, the post-restructuring GRDF and Neucom Emergency Unit have also prioritized hiring locally when it comes to security based in Usea, granting its forces familiarity with the affected regions. This communal approach is tried and tested, not just among Sotoan Union countries following the collapse of General Shahari's regime in the early parts of the 2017 crisis, but also with the South Osean coalition that deployed forces to help stabilize Leasath following their defeat in the war with Aurelia.

It certainly helps that both GR and Neucom's armament manufacturing capabilities and military backgrounds give their "troops" skills _and_ pay on par with or surpassing that of the mutinous armies they would replace. And the two are the only entities that are influential enough to give these states a second chance with investment, inspiring their neighbors to follow through.

This newspaper therefore believes that the private security sector is necessary if not vital for reestablishing stability, at least until the NUN can establish a proper presence in the region. And even then, this newspaper also believes that they must play an ongoing role over the long-term if only to at least ingratiate the NUN and the re-established governments to their constituents, and each other.

Mr Lazzaro and Mr Goussard are no doubt aware of the punishment for success, but they are also cognizant of the punishment for thinking only in the short-term. This is their chance to prove they have learned from that experience. If all goes well, they certainly will not have to worry about short-term resentment.

* * *

_A/N: I'm not sure where it's sourced from but AC Wikia did mention some sort of incident that helped establish corporate presence in 2026. This is how I'd describe it happening, from the POV of Strangereal's Economist magazine._


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